First show in their new home: Theater Project to start new season with Gail Lou and Daaimah as Bessie and Sadie Delany in "Having Our Say"
(UNION, NJ) -- The Theater Project has announced that the Douglas Michael Krueger (DMK) Black Box Theater will serve as the new home for its mainstage summer theater series. The DMK Theater is located in Union Township's new Arts Center and Library complex at 1980 Morris Avenue in Union.
Because of the venue’s proximity and the company’s long collaboration with local libraries, The Theater Project will present four plays and events this summer, including Alabama Story, which is a tribute to America’s librarians fighting censorship.
“Union is proud to welcome The Theater Project to the Union Arts Center this summer,” said Mayor Patricia Guerra-Frazier. “For more than 30 years, The Theater Project has been a cornerstone of New Jersey’s arts community, and we are excited to provide a new home where that tradition can continue to thrive. Their presence will not only enrich our local cultural scene, but also draw visitors to our downtown, supporting local businesses while giving our residents access to outstanding live performances close to home.”
“Coming to the DMK Black Box Theater feels like coming home,” said Mark Spina, artistic director of The Theater Project. “It’s the culmination of a decade of our working to be part of the exciting changes in Union’s downtown. We look forward to bringing new and old patrons to the Union Arts Center and this beautiful new space.”
Spina noted that live theater has faced many obstacles over the last few years, but “our audience has grown steadily since we resumed in-person performances in 2022, producing plays featuring the area’s rising actors and playwrights.”
The 2026 summer season will comprise four shows: Having Our Say; Too Fat for China; Kaleidoscope Kabaret; and The Alabama Story.
June 11-21, Having Our Say, Emily Mann’s drama about Sadie and Bessie Delany, both over 100 years old, who recount their family’s history from slavery to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and beyond. The play, which ran on Broadway in 1995 and received a Tony Award nomination, is an adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling book by the Delany sisters, written in collaboration with journalist Amy Hill Hearth.
July 17-19, Too Fat for China, Phoebe Potts’s poignant and funny one-woman show in which she delves into her experiences as a middle-class Jewish woman navigating the ins and outs of international adoption.
July 24-26, Kaleidoscope Kabaret, an annual festival of songs and short plays by participants in The Theater Project's Playwrights Workshop and Young Playwrights Competition.
August 6-16, The Alabama Story by Kenneth Jones, a drama in which an Alabama librarian and two reunited childhood friends, encounter the forces of censorship and segregation during the American civil rights movement.
Tickets for all four shows are available for purchase online.
Victoria Duncker, arts director for the Union Arts Center, said, “We are honored to have The Theater Project on our stage and look forward to building a strong and lasting partnership together.”
Founded in 1994 in Union, The Theater Project introduces New Jersey audiences to new plays and supports rising playwrights and theater artists. It develops new audiences for theater by service to the community, providing programs for children, and using theater as a forum to address current issues.
